Mr. Phillips, a name that is familiar to only a few. But that will change once you read this article. Not only is he experienced with music, he’s also the new teacher for TV production, a class that has been needing one for a while. With a passion for teaching, this teacher hopes only for the best for his students.

Life before teaching 

   Born and raised in Jamaica, Robert Phillips would spend seven years there. His family decided it would be a good idea to migrate towards Miami. During his high school life, he would be a lazy student, only doing good in music-related things which would end up winning him a college scholarship. There, however, he would realize that he needed to do good after he got placed on academic probation.

   Unfortunately, his dad passed away before Mr. Phillips finished college. This is what he considered his true hardship. Even with this pain on his shoulders, he kept going. He wanted to graduate with amazing grades since his dad couldn’t see him graduate from high school as a good student.

   After getting a degree in music education, he stayed at Florida State in order to get his masters. When he got his masters, his brother, who was in the navy at the time, was stationed in Italy. Believing it was the perfect chance to perform opera in Italy, he started planning to go there along side his brother. Unfortunately, his brother’s son became ill and that forced Robert to stay in Florida. 

   “I was sitting at home with these degrees, and I said well, I can’t sing opera right now so I might as well find a job teaching,” said Mr. Phillips. When he started teaching music, he wanted to only teach for 2-5 years. But because of the demand for male teachers, he ended up staying on the job.

TV Production 

   Mr. Phillips is Miami High’s new TV production teacher. Having experience from teaching TV in past schools, he has many plans for his students including “To take a student from their level and elevate them into a whole other level. It is like a natural high, seeing students that go from lazy and unmotivated, and seeing them grow and be excited.”

   Starting from the basics is one of Mr. Phillips’ big beliefs.  He doesn’t want any students to be behind so starting from the beginning and making sure that everyone in the class is up to date. He also wants his students to come out of the class with real-world knowledge so that the moment they get out, they can get a job anywhere that needs their skills. Setting up students for the future is his main goal.

The future 

   Other than leading his students for success, Mr. Phillips has other ideas not only for the future of the class, but for other things as well. One important thing is the school’s news show, which hasn’t been on air because of Covid. 

   “I want to get the Stingtown News Show on the internet. That way, anybody can just open the show on their phone and professionals can look at a student and say, that’s the kid we need right there,” he said.

   While he has a plan for Stingtown news, he’s still wondering what to do with the club, WMHS. Covid hit the school hard essentially shutting it down, and Mr. Phillips isn’t sure on what to do with the club, but the president of the club said he’ll work hard with him in order to get it back up and running.

Outside of school 

   For his family, he has two grown up boys. One of them became a barber and teaches it. The other became a DJ. He’s married to Dr. Phillips, someone that works in Miami High as well. He has 5 siblings, 3 sisters and 2 brothers. Unfortunately, one of his brothers passed away.

   Teachers like Mr. Phillips might be devoted to his school, but he has a life outside of Miami High. He is the Minister of Music at the Bethel Apostolic Temple. He watches anything that deals with music and media, something he was very good at during his high school years.

– Mr. Phillips was born in Jamaica

– He has a passion for music, something that even won him a scholarship

–He has future plans for his TV Production students that will lead to their success

-He’s the minister of music at his church